Bettie's Box Office: Olympus Has Fallen Movie Review

Updated: Saturday, August 3 2013, 05:06 PM CDT

In Olympus Has Fallen, Gerard Butler plays a Secret Service agent who must save the life of the U.S. President after the White House is overtaken by a paramilitary force. "Olympus" is the Secret Service code name for the White House, but a better title for this movie may have been Die Hard at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Olympus takes the required amount of time for a little back-story and character development before getting into the action, but once it gets there, it's non-stop. The director reportedly worked with a counter-terrorism expert on the plot. The capture of the White House looks like a feasible plan, but you'd hope that our military response would be faster and beefier. Butler makes a good, never-say-die action hero, as he punches, slashes and shoots his way to the President, pausing every so often to contact his superiors to tell them he won't follow their orders. Sound familiar?

Aaron Eckhart is okay as the stoic President Asher, but you'll find yourself wanting his character to act more like President Harrison Ford in Air Force One. And when you see Morgan Freeman cast as the Speaker of the House, then you know his role will be important later on. Sure enough, he's the man unwillingly thrust into power when the Pres and VP are taken hostage. He has to make decisions with global implications.

All in all, Olympus is a cookie-cutter action movie, but the cookie is tasty. Don't overthink it and you'll get caught up in the adrenaline rush. If you like it, mark your calendars for June 28 and the opening of White House Down. Channing Tatum plays a Secret Service agent who must save the life of the U.S. President after the White House is overtaken by a paramilitary force. Wait…what?

Olympus Has Fallen opens Friday, March 22. It’s rated R for strong violence (there's a lot of blood) and language.

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